Top 10 couponing mistakes and how to avoid them

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Whether you are a die-hard couponer or a newbie, there are certain couponing mistakes you must avoid by all means.

Buying stuff you don’t need with coupons

It can be tempting to run off in every direction amassing stuff– both the ones you need and those you don’t – all because you have got a bunch of coupon codes. This is counterintuitive, however.

Why buy a pack of hair cream you know you will definitely never use all because you got it at an incredible discount?

The couponer’s rule states: Buy stuff you will use and leave the rest – that isn’t much asking.

Clearing the shelves

Addictive couponing can be tempting you know. Some extreme couponers make the mistake of completely clearing out a shelf all because they were lucky enough to get a good deal.

Sadly, stocking up stuff not only takes up the precious little space in your home, it also makes it hard for stores to redeem the coupon of others. Put simply, buy items you need in the right quantity.

Giving in to impulsive buying

Couponers and shoppers alike have this problem. Hunting discounts and free offers is sure an exciting experience, but making a habit – an addictive habit – out of it can be a problem.

Impulsive buying will not only make you buy items that aren’t needed, it will also make you spend more, eventually.

The best way to counter impulsive buying is by taking a list along when going shopping. Of course, a great deal of discipline would be handy.

Sticking to a particular brand

We all have our favorite brands. Favorite coffee brand, favorite shampoo, favorite baby food…I can go on listing this forever.

But what if our favorite brands aren’t offering any coupon? Walk away? Definitely not

Remember, you reason for taking to couponing in the first place is to save money. You will only be shooting yourself in the leg by taking the “this brand or no other” stance when hunting for deals.

As a rule; if it saves you money and is worth some value, go for it.

Blowing your budget

In the bid to build a stockpile that will last a long while, some couponers end up going over the edge with their budget.

As funny as it may sound, there is every possibility that you might end up spending more than you would have if you shopped without coupons.

To avoid this mistake, have a budget at hand and be willing to give an arm to stick to it.

Failure to read the fine print

Fine print are the little, often unread, rules that come with an offer. Say a bank was offering a million bucks to 5 of their lucky customers. Exciting isn’t it. If a fine print were to come with the offer, it could read something like this:

“To qualify for this offer, you must have $5,000 in your savings account”

Ouch! That one just slipped off.

To avoid being embarrassed or seen as a fraudulent fellow, take the time (pain sometimes) to read the fine print of a coupon before attempting to redeem it.

It could be that the coupon can only be redeemed when a certain quantity of the product is bought, or, perhaps, at a certain of the year.

Printing every coupon you come across online

Some coupon sites require that you print out coupons before cashing them out at stores. Since it costs money to print these coupons out, it sure does make sense to do so judiciously.

If you won’t use it, don’t print it – it couldn’t get any easier.

Photocopying coupons

Photocopying coupons is seriously frowned upon in many countries and states. In fact, it is considered as a criminal act in some place; something you wouldn’t want to get yourself involved in.

If you are pressed of time or don’t have the money to print the coupon, ask a friend to help you out at the office.

Feeling ashamed for using coupon

Let’s face it; using coupons can be embarrassing. It may seem like you are telling the whole wide world that you are broke, and only managing to push through.

But before ditching the whole couponing thing all because you get a weird stare at the store when redeeming your coupon, consider this:

Couponing can be done for the mere fun of it, not just to save.

Those that may look financially more advantaged than you might have at some point used discount codes, too.

Maybe they wished they had the courage to use the stack of coupons they might have.

The reasons are endless – what matters is doing your thing with head held high.

Buying at the wrong time

Take it or not, there are certain times of the year, month or day that aren’t ideal for couponing. While the right time to use coupons isn’t set in stone, it is all up to you to find out when would be best to use discount codes.